Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1941 (SND Vol. II).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
CLAGGUM, CLAGUM, Clagam, Claggie, n. “A coarse sweetmeat, consisting of treacle hardened by boiling, and flavoured” (Sc. 1887 Jam.6, claggum, claggie), a sticky kind of toffee. Cf. Clack, n.2 Known to Bnff.2 and Abd. correspondents 1940. [′klɑgəm, ′klɑgi]Ork. 1920 J. Firth Reminisc. Ork. Par. (1922) 123:
Then there were the sweetie stands, where the young men stood “fairing” to their female acquaintances, this fairing consisting of . . . ginger-bread, or a lump of “clagum.”Abd. 1926 P. Giles in Abd. Univ. Review (July) 224:
Gin ye got an antrin bawbee to buy claggum fae Candy Shusie, an' ye're fader fees hame f' Bartle Market a fairin' o' Solomon's Temple, ye wiz thocht t' be unco weel aff.Hdg. 1885 “S. Mucklebackit” Rural Rhymes and Sketches 143:
At last we finished off, by way of dessert, with . . . creams, jellies, oranges . . . figs, clagam, rock, sugar-candy, and all sorts of sweetmeats.Rxb. 1874 Trans. Hawick Arch. Soc. 211/1:
The kraim-wives . . . exposed their wares of gingerbread, tam trott, and clagam on the old through stones.
